Controller averts midair incident with two jets sharing flight number

A Phoenix air traffic controller averted a potential disaster late Thursday night when two American Airlines jets, both assigned the same flight number, converged in the same airspace. The controller’s quick thinking and clear communication kept the aircraft safely separated as one arrived from Chicago and the other departed for the same city.

The incident occurred shortly after midnight on August 15, 2026, at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. Both planes were operating as American Airlines Flight 2482, a roundtrip route that typically uses the same aircraft to fly between Chicago and Phoenix. However, the inbound flight from Chicago was delayed by bad weather. To keep the return leg on schedule, American Airlines dispatched a second plane from Phoenix. This resulted in two aircraft with the identical call sign being active on the same radio frequency at the same time.

Audio from the air traffic control recording captured the veteran controller’s immediate response. He began differentiating the planes by referring to one as "American 2482 on the arrival" and the other as "American 2482 on the departure." He maintained the arriving plane at a higher altitude while keeping...